D-ribose, creatine, phosphorus and ATP

[Guest guest]

This is a bit technical, but may be helpful to those of you who like

to understand the whys behind the treatments. These paragraphs offer

a rationale for the combined use of D-ribose, phosphorus and

creatine to help generate more usable ATP.

Barbara

Ribose is used to generate ATP (adenosine triphosphate). In theory,

supplementing your diet with additional ribose should increase the

rate at which ATP is generated, leading to an improvement in

exercise performance and faster muscle growth. ATP is constantly

being broken down and " recreated " . In the process, it provides

energy for every move you make and every chemical reaction that

occurs in human body. The adenine portion of adenine triphosphate

consists of one molecule of adenine and the five-carbon sugar,

ribose. The triphosphate portion of ATP consists of three phosphate

molecules.

Energy is released when one of those phosphates is broken off from

ATP. The compound then becomes adenosine diphosphate (ADP), which

consists of adenosine and two phosphate molecules. ADP becomes

adenosine monophosphate (AMP) when another phosphate molecule is

broken off. The ratio between ATP, ADP and AMP is critical in

regulating the energy content of a cell. However, during high-

intensity exercise, the cell is unable to " recreate " ATP fast

enough. Under these conditions, the concentrations of ADP and AMP

rise, leading to a reduction in the " energy charge " of the cell. If

ATP use continues to exceed the rate at which it can be generated,

nucleotides are lost from the cell in an attempt to restore the

ratio between ATP, ADP and AMP. During anaerobic metabolism, in an

attempt to keep up with cellular energy demands, 2 ADP's combine to

form 1 ATP and 1 AMP, by way of a metabolic process called the

myokinase reaction. As a result, AMP builds up in the cell, and

disturbs the ratio of ATP to ADP and AMP, which the cell works to

keep in check. To do this, AMP concentrations must be lowered by

degrading AMP to simpler end products, which are washed out of the

cell and lost forever. The final result, is a dramatic decrease in

the adenine nucleotide pool. In fact, the adenine nucleotide pool

can decrease by as much as 50% in heart muscle following ischemia

(diminished blood flow to tissues), and around 32% in skeletal

muscle following high - intensity exercise. When the adenine

nucleotide pool is reduced, performance and recovery are compromised

very noticeably.

Ribose, when taken as a nutritional supplement, bypasses the slow

conversion steps needed to recreate the adenosine nucleotide, and is

readily available for the creation of more ATP. Replacing these lost

adenine nucleotides can take several days, reducing the rate at

which muscle fibers are repaired. Supplemental ribose can increase

the speed at which these nucleotides are replaced, both at rest and

during exercise. As such, there has been a great deal of interest in

the potential of ribose supplements to boost muscular performance in

sports.

Ribose increases both de novo (new) synthesis and salvage of

nucleotides in heart and skeletal muscle. In anaerobic conditions,

as are present with ischemia or anoxia, adenine nucleotides are

catabolized to inosine and adenine, which are further degraded

metabolically and washed out of heart and muscle cells. As a result,

total adenine nucleotide pools, particularly as evidenced by ATP

content, are depressed. This depression may last for several days

before baseline levels can be reestablished.

Heart and skeletal muscle cells cannot quickly replace lost

nucleotides due to low availability of two rate limiting enzymes in

the Pentose Phosphate Pathway, which metabolizes glucose to ribose-5-

phosphate. Ribose, in turn, forms 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate,

which is a limiting compound in both nucleotide de novo synthesis

and salvage. Supplemental ribose bypasses the rate limiting steps of

the Pentose Phosphate Pathway, speeding syntheses of nucleotides

that may be lost form the cell through catabolism and salvage of

nucleotides, creating flux back to ATP before they can be washed

away.

Ribose and creatine work together. Creatine phosphate works to

increase energy by supplying phosphate to recycle adenosine

diphosphate (ADP) into ATP. When an ATP molecule, in for example a

skeletal or heart muscle cell, releases its energy to contract that

cell, it loses a phosphate. Now, this energy molecule has lost one

phosphate and is called ADP or Adenosine Di-phosphate. It is now at

a lower energy state and needs to be recharged back to its tri-

phosphate configuration. This is where Creatine comes into play.

Creatine picks up a phosphate and donates it to the ADP molecule

rebuilding it into ATP. Now your ATP is reloaded, so to speak, and

ready to supply more energy.

http://www.greatvistachemicals.com/biochemicals/d-ribose.html